President Yoon Appoints Han Dong-hoon as Minister of Justice and Kim Hyun-sook as Minister of Gender Equality and Family (Comprehensive)

Han Dong-hoon, the nominee for Minister of Justice, appeared at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 9th and responded to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Kim Hyun-sook, the nominee for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is attending the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 11th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 17th, President Yoon Suk-yeol appointed Han Dong-hoon as Minister of Justice and Kim Hyun-sook as Minister of Gender Equality and Family.

The presidential spokesperson's office announced at 5 p.m. that day through a press release, "President Yoon has just appointed and approved Minister Han and Minister Kim." From 3 p.m. that day, the National Assembly's Steering Committee was holding a session regarding the presidential office.

Minister Han, known as a leading special prosecutor during his time as a prosecutor, is considered a close aide who has worked closely with President Yoon for a long time. Born in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, he passed the bar exam in 1995 while in his senior year at Seoul National University Law School and entered the prosecution as part of the 27th Judicial Research and Training Institute class.

After serving as a legal officer in the Air Force, he was assigned first to the Seoul District Prosecutors' Office (now Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office) in 2001. In 2002, during his early years as a prosecutor, he joined the SK Group slush fund investigation team, and in 2006, he worked with President Yoon as a researcher at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Central Investigation Department investigating the Hyundai Motor slush fund case, building their relationship.

Nicknamed the "Grim Reaper of the Business World," he held key positions such as head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Policy Planning Division and head of the Fair Trade and Tax Investigation Division at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. In 2017, he worked again with President Yoon on the special prosecutor team led by Park Young-soo. After President Yoon was appointed head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, Han was appointed as the third deputy prosecutor, and in 2019, he was promoted to chief prosecutor, holding important posts such as head of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office Anti-Corruption and Violence Division.

During the Moon Jae-in administration, following the 'Cho Kuk investigation,' he experienced conflicts with the ruling power and was demoted four times, but after the regime change, he was surprisingly appointed as the first Minister of Justice in the new government.

Minister Kim, appointed as Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is a scholar-turned-politician who served as the Senior Secretary for Employment and Welfare at the Blue House during the Park Geun-hye administration. Born in Cheongju, Chungbuk, she graduated from Seoul National University with a degree in economics, earned a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois in the United States, and served as a professor in the Department of Economics at Soongsil University.

She was elected as a proportional representative member of the National Assembly for the Saenuri Party in the 19th general election and led agendas such as public servant pension reform within the conservative camp based on her economic expertise. From the presidential primary, she helped President Yoon with policy and pledge formulation and worked as a special advisor during the transition team.

With the appointments of Minister Han and Minister Kim, appointments for 16 out of the 18 ministries, excluding the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare, have been completed.

The appointment of Jeong Ho-young, nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, has been temporarily put on hold. Although there is speculation that the appointment may be pushed through soon, the main opposition party, the Democratic Party of Korea, is strongly demanding his withdrawal. Especially with the uncertainty surrounding the confirmation of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo and the upcoming review of the supplementary budget for COVID-19, President Yoon faces a burden.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.